'Uaslu! id-dischi giodda bil-Malti' - the first Maltese records - a sense of Maltese identity

Abstract

The first recordings of Maltese folk tunes (għana) and pochades were released on ‘shellac’ records having seventy-eight revolutions per minute (r.p.m.) in the very early years of the Great Depression, a politically turbulent time for British Malta dominated by the language question. International phonographs in Malta were already a hit on the market and were accessible to the local population, especially to those who used to buy shellac records of foreign music, including selections from well-known operas often performed in the Royal Theatre. These included canzonetti siciliani like ‘Piciriddu Chiarige’ / ‘Femmene Picchiuse’ and ‘Scioscia Scioscia Carulina’ / ‘Dolce Sicilia’, or music for mandolin orchestra like ‘Fior di Maggio Valz’ / ‘Arrivederci Polka’. During the interwar period, the Carabott, D’Amato, and Brizzi music shops in Valletta were recognised as agents for the main international labels, as record and gramophone sole agents and wholesalers and suppliers for other retail outlets in Valletta, Cospicua, Ħamrun, and Sliema.